Powershot A630

Powershot A630

Canon Powershot A630 Review

By
Movable Type Admin

Features & Controls

The A630 features a 4X optical (35-140mm in the 35mm format) f/2.8-4.1 all-glass aspherical
zoom lens. When powered down the lens is retracted inside of the body
and a built-in shutter closes to completely protect the lens.

An advanced TTL AiAF 9-point autofocus system permits the camera to automatically select
the primary subject even when off-center. The focusing range is:

This is a Light-guide zoom flash that changes its angle according to the lens' focal length. The
AF-assist lamp also serves as a red-eye reduction lamp.

Compact and elegantly designed, the optional High-Power Flash HF-DC1 complements your
PowerShot perfectly and requires no accessory shoe. With a strong light output (guide
number 59 ft.) and wide angular field (28mm), it delivers proper illumination up to
approximately 30 feet and in all zoom positions. The flash fires in synchronization with
the main flash, and output is adjusted accurately and automatically. A "Manual" mode
prevents others from firing your flash.

You can frame your pictures with the color LCD or to save precious battery
power you can use the optical finder. This is a coupled viewfinder with
approx. 80% to 85% coverage. It has no dioptric adjustment. Next to the
finder are two LEDs that indicate the flash and focus status.

On the back is a 115,000 pixel 2.5-inch color TFT LCD monitor that can be put in
just about any position you need to frame your shot. It can even be turned to
face forward for self-portraits and closed with the face inward to protect the screen
when it's not being used.

Controls on top: the On/Off power button, the shutter release with the zoom
lens control mounted around it. In playback mode the zoom lever functions as
the index and magnified image control. The Mode Dial with positions for:
Custom, Manual, Aperture priority, Shutter-speed priority, Program AE, Auto,
Portrait, Landscape, Night Scene, Special Scene, MyColors, Stitch Assist
and Movie. Next to the mode dial is the speaker.

See the next page for more information about the
various Record modes.

Controls on the back: in the upper left is the Play / Record switch. The Exposure Compensation
button (Delete image in playback). The Print/Share button speeds and simplifies printing to
Direct Print and PictBridge compliant printers, as well as transferring images. The 4-way
controller lets you navigate menus and select images during playback, the SET button accepts
menu selections, In record mode you press "Up" to change flash modes and press "Down" to change
the focus mode. The FUNCtion/SET button gives you access to the Function shortcut menu, which
has many settings (white balance, ISO, Color effects, image quality and image size), it's also
used to accept menu settings.
The DISPlay button turns the
color LCD on/off and controls the amount of data displayed on it.
The MENU button calls up and dismisses the menu screens.

The I/O ports:
DC INput jack for an optional AC power supply.

The DIGITAL port connects USB 2.0 (high-speed) to the computer for
download and camera control with the RemoteCapture software. It also allows
for Direct printing to any PictBridge compatible printer,
Canon Card Photo Printer or Bubblejet Direct photo printers.

AV Out handles monaural audio and video to connect to a TV set with
the supplied cable.

The Powershot A630 is equipped with a Secure Digital / MultiMediaCard slot and comes with
a Canon 16MB MMC card. It can handle any capacity SD or SDHC card up to 4GB.

16MB Storage Capacity Approximate

Large
3648 x 2736 pixels

Superfine

4

Fine

7

Normal

14

Medium1
2816 x 2112 pixels

Superfine

5

Fine

10

Normal

21

Medium2
2272 x 1704 pixels

Superfine

9

Fine

16

Normal

33

Medium3
1600 x 1200 pixels

Superfine

14

Fine

26

Normal

50

Small
640 x 480 pixels

Superfine

56

Fine

88

Normal

138

Wide-screen
3648 x 2048 pixels

Superfine

5

Fine

9

Normal

20

The A630 is powered by four standard AA-type batteries, alkaline, NiMH (nickel metal
hydride), or lithium cells. Canon claims with AA Alkaline batteries you can capture approx.
350 shots, or approx. 500 shots with NiMH cells (using CIPA standards.) They claim
1,200 minutes of continuous playback time with both types of cells.

Canon offers an optional NiMH Battery & Charger Kit CBK4-300 that includes a charger and four
rechargeable AA-size NiMH batteries. The A630 can also be powered by the AC Adapter Kit ACK800
for unlimited runtime from your wall outlet.

Visitors of Steves can visit the stores below for real-time pricing and availability. You can also find hot, soon to expire online offers on a variety of cameras and accessories at our very own Camera Deals page.